Meta has announced changes aimed at making the Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets more appealing. The more affordable Quest 2 VR headset is $70 off, and the Quest Pro 2 is $500 off.

The new prices will take effect from March 5, 2023 in the US and Canada, and from March 15 in all other countries where devices are officially sold.

• Meta Quest 2 – $399.99 (price unchanged).
• Meta Quest 2 (256GB) – $429.99 (old price $499.99)
• Meta Quest Pro – $999.99 (pack price $1,499.99)

Meta is reducing the price of its flagship Quest Pro VR headset aimed at professionals, just four months after its launch in October 2022. As a result, sales of the device fell short of expectations. Meta’s AR/VR Reality Labs unit lost $13.7 billion in 2022, according to CNBC, and the price cut for Quest equipment is part of the company’s plan to grow its customer base.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, although the company does not intend to monetize its Quest equipment, at the same time the AR/VR division creates huge losses for the entire company. In October, after criticism leveled against Apple amid the expected price of the announced headset of up to $3,000, Zuckerberg said:

“Often people make hardware and try to profit from it, but if you’re Apple, you make hardware and charge as much as you can for it,” Zuckerberg said.

“I really think someone will come into space one day and say, ‘We’re going to make better equipment in space and sell it at a breakeven point and in some cases. [at a loss]”.

Earlier, the company had already reported that it has managed to sell around 20 million of its devices worldwide. A price cut would likely increase that figure even further. At the same time, it’s unclear whether the manufacturer’s multiple accessories for VR helmets will come in cheaper. Another possible reason for such a significant drop in headphone prices is that the new Quest 3 model will be released as early as 2023, as the company previously reported.